


Don't Go

by Jasontodd908



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Anger, F/M, Loss, Love, Rule 63, Tragedy, lovemaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:34:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23976823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasontodd908/pseuds/Jasontodd908
Summary: We all knew that one day it would happen. The Caped Crusader would fall, and someone would need to be there to put her back together. This looks like a job for....
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Don't Go

**_The Batcave, Underneath Wayne Manor, Just Outside Gotham City_ **

She hit the bag again, sending it careening into the darkness before the rope attaching it to the beams brings it back, allowing her to strike at it once more. Her gloves are torn and bloody, exposing her knuckles. She doesn’t stop. She keeps pummeling the speed bag with blows that would kill a human being if they were hit by them. Luckily it’s a bag.

For now.

With the fragile state that the woman is in, it wouldn’t be all that unfeasible for the woman to take to the streets again, looking for some unlucky thug to unleash her wrath upon. But she doesn’t. She keeps going on the bag. It gives him a bit of relief, watching from the darkness, to know that she wouldn’t go out to vent.    
  
Still, watching her in pain, a pain that she refused to let out healthily, it was always something he could never readily endure. Fighting Darkseid or stopping tornados was more his thing. Not putting people back together. He was much better at inspiring hope than in healing. At this moment, he would trade all his powers and abilities to be able to make the woman in front of him calm down.

She stops her activity, standing stock still in the dim lights of the cave. She was still wearing the cowl, still wearing her cape. She hadn’t changed out of her clothes since she’d come into the cave at all. ‘Maybe she never really takes them off’ he thinks to himself. 

“I know you’re there” her voice calls out, gruff and hard. It bounces across the stone walls of the cave, though he didn’t need the echo to hear her. He would’ve heard just fine if she had whispered it. “You always do”.

Superman slowly floats out of the shadows, landing on the floor and standing still, his eyes trained on the woman. Neither say anything, they only look at the other. He stares in quiet sympathy while she glares at him in hatred. “You shouldn’t be here” she says, turning and moving towards the computer that dominated the cave. It was clear she was avoiding him, just like she was avoiding everyone else. The problem was that everyone else was afraid of her, or saw her as the invincible Batwoman and that she didn’t need anyone else.

Clark knew the truth.

“I disagree” he says, staying a few feet behind her. “This is the exact place I should be. Talk to me” he implores. He watches as she leans forward, her palms against the desk. Her shoulders shake in rage, her desire to be left alone intruded on the Man of Steel’s unwillingness to leave her alone. “I’m fine Clark. Please...leave”.

“Ohh so the bloody knuckles are you being fine? Bethany, I’m not like the rest” he says, moving forward and placing his hand on her shoulder. With lightning speed she turns, smashing her fist against his chin. It doesn’t hurt. As much of a threat that Bethany was, no matter how many trembled in fear of her, he wasn’t afraid. It does take him off guard however, and the barrage of punches that rain down on him slowly push him back until he digs into his spot, planting his feet refusing to budge any more. 

The woman is pressed against his chest, fighting him with all her remaining strength, which was still more than impressive. “You aren’t like the rest! Where the hell were you?!” she shouts, tears finally breaking over their dams and flooding over the eye slits of her cowl. He watches their tracks over the black material, never having seen that before. If he didn’t have such a strong moral code, he’d destroy planets to remove them. 

He can’t though, so he stands there, letting her unleash her anger and despair upon him. “Where were you you bastard!? Answer me?! Why did you let him die?!” she sobs, her voice breaking while her fists slow, their impact becoming less and less. He’d been off world. Fighting someone or something far away when it had happened. It didn’t matter anymore. While whatever he had been doing was undoubtedly important, he still felt like a failure. She didn’t mean what she was saying. Bethany Wayne was nothing if not a realist. Still, the thought lingers.

‘Superman. What a joke’

She finally stops hitting him, her gloved fists now resting against his chest. Her sobs are quiet, though he knows that it’s only just started. So many years of bottling it all up. So many years of channeling it. And now? She didn’t know where to put it. He’d help her though. Whatever it took.

“A...Alfred” she says quietly, a whisper against him. He closes his eyes, knowing that what was coming would be the hardest thing he’d ever have to see. “ALFRED!” she shouts again, rage and utter hopelessness tainting her voice forever. He wraps his arms around her, bringing her into his chest as she rages. “HE KILLED ALFRED!” she shouts, reiterating what he already knew.

Bane. Bane had found out who his nemesis really was. He’d gone to the house and killed the butler that everyone knew and loved. He didn’t know the rest. He knew how it ended, with Bane being beaten to a bloody pulp and then electrocuted. He’d forgotten everything that he’d done, and was practically catatonic, only shouting in fear and demanding protection from the Batwoman.

Bethany had lost her father all over again.

Her knees buckle and she begins to fall, sliding in his arms. Clark is faster and stronger, holding her to him as she breaks in front of another person for possibly the first time. He kneels on the ground, bringing her body into his side. He rubs her back, moving his hand under the cape as she tucks her head into his neck. He feels the hot tears against his skin, and finds himself glad for them nonetheless. She needed this. To fall. 

“It’s okay Bethany” he whispers against her ear. “It’s okay. Fall apart” he says, the woman’s head leaning back to look at him. He reaches forward with his free hand, grasping the hidden clasp that he knew was there. With a quick movement, her mask is undone and he pulls it off, her long dark hair spilling out over her shoulders, and her bloodshot blue eyes settling on his. He keeps his hand close, using his thumb to wipe some of her tears away. They come even quicker as she looks back up at him. “I’ll be here to put you back together”.

He sees hesitation in her eyes, but eventually she thrusts herself back into him, still crying. “Please don’t go too” she pleads, looking more like a scared child than a hardened vigilante. He nods, bringing her into him again for her to resume crying, hidden from the outside world that expected her to be a bastion of strength all of the time. Guiltily, he knew that he had done so as well, seeing her as Batwoman. She was also Bethany Wayne. The little girl who had seen her parents get shot in an alley and had never gotten over it. 

He’d help her in any way he could.

He drops her mask in the darkness, letting it clank against the floor before returning his hand to her side. 

**_Three Hours Later_ **

She looks peaceful. It was strange to see her like this, her face relaxed without a scowl. She was always beautiful, but at this moment, she looked like a goddess. Clark reaches down with his opposite arm, brushing through her hair and teasing across her forehead. She doesn’t stir, but merely snuggles in closer, her arms wrapped about his arm and chest, keeping their nude bodies close together. 

He couldn’t tell you why he kissed her, well, he knew that was a lie. He knew exactly why he kissed her. He’d always loved the woman, even during his short relationship with Lois Lane. His eyes were always fixed on the other woman, who scowled and glared, wanted to be alone. He loved her because underneath the facade, she was one of the most caring people he’d ever meet, whos passion for protecting people and her crusade for justice would always be her lasting achievement. 

He was happy that in her time of need, she reached out and clutched him close. He had fears and doubts, not exactly sure if making love to the woman at this time had been his smartest decision. He had little choice though. When the woman’s lips latched onto his, and her hands greedily and needily clawed at him, he had picked her up and taken her to a room. He’d made love to her like he’d never made love to anyone before. The kind of lovemaking that was done with anguish and tragedy in the background. He’d kissed away her tears. He remembered that vividly.

He shuffles slightly, wanting to reposition his left leg, though Bethany had wrapped her own around his right. The movement wakes her, though she doesn’t open her eyes. “Where are you going?” she asks, a slight tremor still in her voice. He leans down, kissing her forehead and turning in the bed, taking her into his arms once more. She cradles her head under his chin, her hands laying on his chest. The Batwoman, the scourge of the Gotham underworld and one of the founding members of the Justice League, was cuddling. 

It would’ve been comical if not for why she needed it.

“I’m not going anywhere Bethany” he says, meaning every word.


End file.
